Dad's Army

The local Home Guard

St.Helier's local battalion of the Home Guard was the 57th, Mitcham. Doreen Porter's father, George Wilkes, was a sergeant with them. His depot was in a hall in Buckhurst Avenue and she attended Christmas parties there as a child.

Sergeant George Wilkes of the Home Guard

Doreen Porter (née Wilkes)

When it first formed in May 1940, the force was known as the LDV or Local Defence Volunteers but Churchill described them as the 'Home Guard' in a speech in July of that year, and the name stuck. They had four main duties:

To observe and report enemy attack and infiltration in their area; to delay any advancing army for as long as possible; to protect vital places like railways, factories, telephone exchanges and reservoirs; to guide the regular army where necessary.* They took their duties seriously and drilled regularly. During an air raid on Mitcham on the night of 16/17 April 1941, eleven members of the battalion were killed.

*Crook, Paul, Surrey Home Guard, (Middleton Press, 2000)

Despite their commitment and professionalism, Doreen can still remember one event which is worthy of an episode in "Dad's Army".

Well they had to practice what would happen if anyone ever invaded. He was in uniform and it was mainly going down to the hall to arrange different things that they would have to arrange for wartime and help the ARP men as well. And then they sort of practised manoeuvres around the area - different areas - trying to conceal themselves should, at any time anybody, invade us.

There was one hilarious day when they were all out in the roads between Welbeck and Green Wrythe. There used to be a sort of little place of trees in the middle of the road from what I remember, and then they were doing some manoeuvres one day, pretending to hide and so on as you might imagine, but all the children came running out, shouting out, "There's my dad! There's my Dad!" and we were all told to go away and not come back. (Doreen Porter née Wilkes)

Maybe some residents found the enthusiasm of the Home Guards a little too overbearing. David Fenn remembers being challenged.